PEM Friends attended their 3rd BAD Annual meeting in Manchester on 2nd to 4th July and it was another great success.
These meetings are for delegates who are, in the main, dermatologists but we also spoke to dental specialists, researchers, GP’s, nurses and other medics with an interest in Dermatology - anyone who wants to keep their knowledge up to date and also mix with friends, colleagues and other professionals.
There are also a large number of exhibitors who want to talk about their dermatological products and drugs.
The BAD invite their Patient Support Groups (PSG’s) like PEM Friends to take a booth so that they can chat to the delegates.
Our PEM Friends stand
To encourage them to talk to the PSG’s, the delegates are also given questions that, if all answered correctly, can result in a prize. Our question was ‘what is the difference between Pemphigus and Pemphigoid”.
Helen, Alison and Isobel all took their turn manning our stand. It was well positioned near a lecture theatre and next door to our friends from the Primary Care Dermatology Society https://www.pcds.org.uk/the-primary-care-dermatology-society. They always get a lot of visitors and we were also able to meet new members of their team including their new chairman, Julian Peace.
Helen
Alison
It was Helen’s first such meeting and she was there for all 3 days. Alison and Isobel had been to one of the previous events and knew a little more what to expect. It didn’t disappoint. Helen said “It was a totally new and different experience for me and I really enjoyed myself, especially meeting other PEM Friends volunteers in person”.
When we meet the dermatologists and other people involved in our care we realise that they are people just like us. At the BAD Meeting, they are relaxed and enjoying the learning and networking too. One of the visitors to the stand even asked how we wanted them to be with us as patients during consultations. Helen said to listen to our story as well as look at our skin and to give us the time to talk. She says she would recommend everyone who lives near him to be his patient – if only we could remember which doctor he was! As we all know Pem affects us all emotionally as well as physically.
We were keen to tell everyone about our new leaflets which Trina had spent many hours preparing for printing. They arrived in the nick of time. We also wanted to tell anyone who was listening about our new website. The QR code for this was on the back of the leaflets. People attending were all interested and many weren’t aware of us.
The first morning was a little slow but at lunchtime, we had a steady flow of visitors. Our first visitor told us that he appreciated being sent the magazine and how good it is. We were thrilled to know that at least one of the many we send out is read and appreciated.
Another dental specialist came over and we chatted at length about bullous diseases. He was very interested in them and also lectures others on the subject.
We also managed a brief catch up with our other friends, Carron and Maggie, at the Nottingham Dermatology Clinical Trials Network http://www.ukdctn.org. Quiet time on the stand allows one of us to go and chat to exhibitors and there were several of interest. Sanofi Regeneron were there talking about their trials using dupilimab for the treatment of BP. There were also a couple of companies doing wound dressings appropriate for our PEM Friends.
Other Stands
There were some greater pleasures for those of us attending too. The back massage and foot massager were also available to us and we deserved it for sure!
The third day was a shorter day and we packed up and left at 2pm as the conference was closing. Not as many clinicians stopped by but two of our favourite doctors called again to say hello and goodbye. Jane Setterfield and Antonia Lloyd-Lavery had both helped us write the content for our new website, so we were able to thank them face to face.
All in all, it was a very successful meeting. We met many doctors, some nurses and were given very positive feedback about the work we do. Our mission to raise awareness, check that our work is hitting the spot and learn a little more about treatments for PEM, etc, was fully accomplished.
And everyone should get a foot massager machine!
Next meeting is in Glasgow in June 2025.
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